The U.S. faces decline amid Trump’s policies, BRICS rise, trade wars, and shifting global alliances challenging its dominance
Himanshu Patnaik
Once the’ Big Brother’of the world, the U.S.has now become a step-brother, due to the saccharine balderdash of the traumatic Trump.
From 1777-81 to 1899- policy of ‘Isolationism’, marked by Washingtonism,1823 ‘Monroe Doctrine’, Gold-rush in Westward Expansion, worst genocide in history( massacre of Red Indians), post-Civil War unity of North and South, and industrial revolution that promoted the US to no.1 economic position in the world by 1900.
The conquest of Spanish colonies till the Philippines, Cuba in 1899, the reality of little scope for imperialism in a Europe-dominated world, and so, a change to economic imperialism starting with ‘Open Door’ in China, and the era of ‘Dollar Diplomacy’.
Militarism in the 1st and 2nd World Wars that tightened its economic noose around Europe, despite the Great Depression(1929-32) and the respite through F.Roosevelt’s practice of ‘deficit financing'( New Deal), uniting the world, including the USSR, against the Axis powers.
Cold-War scenario from 1945’s bi-polar world till the unipolar US-dominated world till Gorbachev’s Gorvachov ‘ Gorvachov ‘ Perestroika ended USSR.Now, with the resurgence of Russia-China and BRICS with latent support from Iran, Venezuela, Singapore, most of Africa and Latin America, and even Spain(?),The US is surprised to find a new geopolitical change, much to its chagrin.
Trump has virtually abandoned Israel (after Iran’s massive attack on Israel), Ukraine( ” you can never win a defensive war, “Trump told Ukraine), the exposed fiasco of the Indo-Pak war, and left NATO to fend for itself on the Russian border.
When a tariff becomes discriminatory, it invites a retaliatory tariff. A 50% hike against India, proposed ones against Russia, China, and others have boomeranged very badly. Trump has strongly united BRICS. The latter have stopped selling Gas, Coal, Lithium, Chips (H-20)from China. India and others purchasing oil from Russia and may be, Iran, a new BRICS currency that attracts Africa, Latin America and, even, Japan( due to high tariff on its electri and electronic devices including automobiles, stoppage of agricultural exports, pharmaceuticals, herbs, and Russia’s uranium., platinum and fertilizers all these have already shown cracks in the Western alliance.
Spain’s cancellation, following India’s, of the American F-35 fighter-jet deal, disillusioned Apple, Musk, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and other American corporations, seriously questioning Trump’s sanity. The economic loan of the USA is now above 38 trillion dollars.
Thailand, Korea, and the Philippines want to end US-middlemanship, which is the American concern, now, as to how to retrieve the US-economy from the comparative oblivion of Trump’s Signature. Trump’s Red Line has become his own Laxmanrekha, as the Sino-Indian diplomatic meet on 1.9.25 would be drawing near. It may write the epitaph of the mighty Dollar.
(The writer is a retired professor of history. Views Expressed are personal)
Such an insightful article! We are witnessing the change of guard.